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Skipper of the Sea Que · 06-07-2006, 05:32 PM

I empathize with the people hurt in the boating mishap described by mjp. Bad weather and a boater out in poor visibility with almost no control of the boat hits an island that they didn’t see coming… So they want to use a cell phone to call “911” but there was no cell service. What would 911 do anyway? You don’t know where your boat is and neither do they. There is no cell phone locator system in place around the Lake.

The real concern as Airwaves pointed out, (msg #35) is that the responders did not have the necessary communications equipment to do their work as efficiently as possible. Their radios should provide them with proper coverage and back-up comm procedures. If not, that issue needs to be addressed. Blaming a delayed response on cell phone coverage that does not yet exist is a hard concept for me to embrace.

Monitoring VHF Marine Radio channel 16 can be very informative. You can hear severe weather alerts from the Captain of the Mt. Washington, Mighty Mo, Marine Patrol and other boaters. Your call for help can reach many people all at once – some may be close to you. The new Marine VHF-DSC system on Channel 70 can (if connected to GPS) transmit your exact location and a distress call with the push of a button (the DSC system is not currently monitored by Marine Patrol, Tow Boat US or SeaTow). More and more boaters though are discovering and using the DSC features of Marine VHF radio and do monitor for DSC distress and routine calls.

By the way, kayakers and others who get real wet while boating, most cell phones do not like water. There are various reasonably priced waterproof or submersible Marine VHF hand held radios you might consider.

Even if/when there is cell phone coverage, cell service is not always available and calls do get dropped and lost.

06-07-2006, 05:32 PM	#39
Skipper of the Sea Que Deceased Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: 1/2 way between Boston & Providence Posts: 573 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 32 Thanked 55 Times in 22 Posts	Emergency response, cell phones and VHF I empathize with the people hurt in the boating mishap described by mjp. Bad weather and a boater out in poor visibility with almost no control of the boat hits an island that they didn’t see coming… So they want to use a cell phone to call “911” but there was no cell service. What would 911 do anyway? You don’t know where your boat is and neither do they. There is no cell phone locator system in place around the Lake. The real concern as Airwaves pointed out, (msg #35) is that the responders did not have the necessary communications equipment to do their work as efficiently as possible. Their radios should provide them with proper coverage and back-up comm procedures. If not, that issue needs to be addressed. Blaming a delayed response on cell phone coverage that does not yet exist is a hard concept for me to embrace. Monitoring VHF Marine Radio channel 16 can be very informative. You can hear severe weather alerts from the Captain of the Mt. Washington, Mighty Mo, Marine Patrol and other boaters. Your call for help can reach many people all at once – some may be close to you. The new Marine VHF-DSC system on Channel 70 can (if connected to GPS) transmit your exact location and a distress call with the push of a button (the DSC system is not currently monitored by Marine Patrol, Tow Boat US or SeaTow). More and more boaters though are discovering and using the DSC features of Marine VHF radio and do monitor for DSC distress and routine calls. By the way, kayakers and others who get real wet while boating, most cell phones do not like water. There are various reasonably priced waterproof or submersible Marine VHF hand held radios you might consider. Even if/when there is cell phone coverage, cell service is not always available and calls do get dropped and lost. __________________ Amateur HAM Radio What is it? You'll be surprised. When all else fails Ham Radio still works. Shriners Hospitals *providing specialized care for children regardless of ability to pay*. Find out more or refer a patient.